The Heart and Love of Alec Hardy
by trenzalore-fields-forever
Summary: Alec loves Ellie. Ellie loves Joe. Or at least she thought she did. Will she be tempted by something new or will she stay with what she knows? Set during the case and runs along the plot.
1. Complicated

**This is kind of a twist on the plot of Broadchurch. It's a little weird and OOC but I wrote and thought I'd just post it :) Hope you like it!**

Ellie was mad at him. Very mad. How could he do that to her? Tell her that when she was confused already. It was summer, Danny Latimer's killer was still at large and Alec Hardy had asked Ellie Miller to run away with him once the case was solved.

He hated cheaters as he had been cheated on but it wouldn't be cheating, not really. He proposed they do nothing until the case was solved and then she would tell Joe she was leaving and if she could she would take the boys too. In his mind he didn't care about Joe feeling betrayed and only cared about Ellie. However, Ellie was happy. Just not with him.

There were no hints as Alec Hardy was not one to flirt. What he did made the whole thing ten times worse. He called her into his office, closed the door behind her and told her everything. Ellie Miller looked like she had seen a ghost but soon came to her senses and slapped him across the face, leaving before he could say anything else.

It would be so much easier if she was not so tempted by it. Alec got under her skin most of the time but they had little moments that hall the magic she felt when she first met Joe and then some.

She sat on the beach, a spot near were Danny was found, and pondered her choices. She loved Joe but he had seemed distant as of late but he was her husband and she loved him. But did she love Alec bloody Hardy too? But she was a mother and they should come first but then in 20 years they won't need her anymore and she would be left wondering what if she ran.

Looking up to the sky, she saw a star brighter than any other. A star almost directly above her.

"Oh Danny" she sighed, allowing a tear to make a trail down her cheek. "What should I do? Why did this have to happen and why were you caught up in this twisted mess."

The star flicked slightly and disappeared for a second behind a cloud.

"Tell you what, disappear and it's Alec and stay were you are, it's Joe."

She watched, she nodded in agreement and began to walk towards the police station.

* * *

Alec sat alone in his office in almost darkness with only his computer screen producing light. He was flicking through his favourites and staring at them with heartbroken eyes. A cottage in Cornwall, a townhouse in London, a farmhouse close to Whitby, even a little house in Broadchurch close to the bay. Whatever Ellie wanted he would give her. He was a man of little hope but he has dreamed of him and her living in their own home. Now he knew that was not meant to be.

"Why is it so dark?" came a familiar voice that made him jump out of his seat and turn on his desk lamp. Ellie stood in the doorway of his office, trousers covered in sand and dry tears staining her face.

"Ellie" he began but the words got caught in his throat as though his entire body was preventing them from being said.

She understood and nodded "I know. That's why I'm here." He frowned which made her laugh. She walked forward and hugged him tight, burying her head into his chest. He put an arm around her waist and another ran through the black curls that had escaped their grips.

"I asked a star something" she admitted and he laughed. Ellie could feel the vibrations in his chest that rippled from his throat and it comforted her more than his manly scent and unfamiliar heartbeat.

"So, DS Miller, what did you ask this star?" he asked in amusement, feeling more relaxed as she was neither mad at him or avoiding him. She was closer to him than ever.

" Whether to go with you or to stay with Joe as I was so confused and when it gave me the answer it told me to go with Joe" she replied, burying her head further into his chest.

"So this is a way of letting me down easy" he spoke sadly and in turn buried his head into her hair.

"Alec, when I saw it was Joe I was disappointed."

He pulled out of the hug and smiled at her like an idiot. "So that means you are coming with me?"

He looked in her face for a smile, happiness in her eyes or any indication to a positive answer. She looked sad and his heart dropped.

"I can't. I love Joe and my boys need us both together not in two separate places." She told him as tears began to stain her cheeks yet again. "You confuse me and I shouldn't be confused. We need to stay professional until the case is over at least as our main priority now is to find out who killed Danny and send them to hell were they will be punished forever more."

Alec nodded reluctantly and they shook hands. He savored the touch of her hand in his for those precious moments he held it. Not since his wife had he done that and he doubted he ever would again with anyone else. She was different to his wife as she was honest and cared about people's feelings and he admired that more than anything.

How funny was it that the thing he loved most about her stopped them from being together.

**Well there it is. Let me know if you want more :)**


	2. Not Keeping Calm and Trying to Carry On

**Here is the next chaper :) Hope you enjoy!**

"Sir, have SOCO given you any more evidence from the boat?" Ellie asked when she came into his office the next morning. She had been up half the night wondering what to say and had decided the best thing to do was to carry on as normal.

The grumpy Alec Hardy had returned to her relief and he shuck his head . "I haven't heard anything but you know what it's like. A match was on last night I think so they will all have a hangover like last time. Anyway, we need to go talk to Jack Marshall again. He didn't tell us about that conviction and I really want to know why."

"I will make some calls. When do you want us there for the reconstruction?"

"Bring him to the station in the afternoon and we'll brief him on what he has to do. Tell him I will buy him a MacDonald's as a thank you."

Ellie waved the offer off "you don't need to do that, sir."

"No I want to" he insisted. "He's doing me a favour and I want to repay him."

"Fine but you will feel the wrath of Fred when he sees you giving Tom something. He's going through a faze of wanting to do what Tom does. It's a good job he's not coming as he'd be wanting to chase Tom while he's on the skateboard. I don't think we would get the message out about Danny's last movements with a manic baby crawling in pursuit."

"Well I can't treat one without the other. I will give him a Happy Meal." Alec replied and Ellie frantically shook her head.

"No sir. He gets it everywhere and throws it all around. Last time he threw the toy right at me and gave me a black eye."

Alec frowned, looking a little taken aback by the strength of Fred Miller. "He will be good cricketer though."

A look of horror passed over Ellie's face and excused herself muttering something about calling Joe to tell him to cancel the sports package. Alec watched her leave and put his head in his hands. He wished he had met her years ago before he got married and before she met Joe. If so they would have children of their own, nice family home in Broadchurch and they would be happy. Well he would be happy. She already was.

As soon as they left the beach, Ellie kicked at the whatever she could find. Including Alec.

"Bloody mad woman" he shouted, backing away from her.

"We let this happen. You let this happen!" she screeched, punching at his left arm which was defending his face.

"I know and I'm sorry but please stop assaulting me!" he pleaded and she gave one last punch before stepping back.

"I knew that man. Jack has been here for years." she barked at him. "The only person I want to be lying on that beach now is the killer."

"Not even me?" he asked, trying to make her feel better and it seemed to work as she managed a chuckle.

"Not unless you killed Danny." she replied.

Alec watched her curiously before moving towards her.

"What if the killer is someone close to you? Would you still want them dead on the beach?"

Ellie nodded. "I wouldn't want them close to me if they had done it. They have...changed me. I mean look at us. We are so wrapped up in this case now."

"Miller, that means you care. That means you're a good copper. Don't tell anyone this but I am really proud of you."

She didn't thank him, she glared at him. "Stop it,

"What?"

"Stop complimenting me"she demanded."I'm you DS not your girlfriend! Don't act like I am different from everyone else. You being nice makes my stomach feel..."

"feel what?" he asked, a smug grin on his face.

"oh shut up" she snapped. "You really get under my skin sometimes."

"I get under your skin? You have just completely overreacted and physically abused me!"

Ellie rolled her eyes. "You are such a child. I go home and I have two kids to look after. I come to work and I have a grumpy, over-sized one to look after."

"I know what I'm doing!" he argued. "If there is anyone that acts like a child it's you."

"Me?" She gasped. "When have I acted like a child?"

He laughed loudly and maliciously which angered Ellie even more.

"You had a tantrum less than two minutes ago" he pointed out. "Childish is a nice way of putting it as I could have said psychotic."

That was the last straw and Ellie was at boiling point.

"I'M NOT PSYCHOTIC! YOU JUST MAKE ME FEEL LIKE I SHOULDN'T!" she screamed at him and he said nothing in reply.

He stared at her as she kicked at thin air and stormed off. That was angry Ellie and he was scared half to death. However angry Ellie turned out to be a more honest Ellie which, despite his now aching arm and breathlessness, made him smile.


	3. Off the Record

**Here's the next chapter! Sorry for the wait but I have had a really busy few weeks. This is a little short but I hope you enjoy! **

****Ellie found Alec sat in a chair looking grumpy as usual. All the other attendees of the wake stood around, eating and drinking, so Ellie did not find it odd that he had sat away from the rest.

Upon seeing her approach, Alec sat up and offered her his best smile. He knew how upset she was about Danny, Jack and even him but she was holding herself up really well. He was so proud of her for that. Also, at that present moment he was a little smug because she was coming over to him and not Joe, who was stood talking to Nige.

"You alright?" Ellie asked him, sitting on the arm of the chair.

"Suppose" he replied with a sigh. "The killer is here and I can't see them. It is so infuriating. I was thinking that we should just stay here and observe their behaviour for a while."

"Yes, definitely" Ellie agreed. "Maybe then we can see who is acting out of character."

Alec pretended to scan the room before looking at the man he suspected most. "The Vicar looks out of character today."

"I knew it" Ellie huffed. "Why don't you like him? Is this because he isn't happy about how we, or rather you, treated Jack Marshall? You know what Sir, he's not the only one."

They sat in silence for a while before Ellie apologized. "Things like this make me emotional anyway and the guilt makes me feel twice as bad."

He understood as even though the great Alec Hardy was unable to feel the damage the case was causing to those affected by it, he knew Ellie could. He wished he had seen her before all this as he imagined her eyes to be brighter and her happy personality even more bubbly. The case had killed a part of Ellie and that part was her naivety. Sometimes he saw his bitter, angry self in Ellie's face and that scared him. Of all the people on earth, Ellie was the last person he wanted to be pained by the curse of bitterness and soul-breaking that came with a case like this. For her sake if not the Latimer's, Alec Hardy hoped for justice.

"Nige is acting a bit too happy" Ellie commented which surprised her DI.

"You've changed your tune" he chuckled but stopped when he saw her glaring at him. She was deadly serious.

"He is acting like he does down the pub or if we go round to the Latimer's for sunday dinner. This is a wake so why isn't he acting like it is."

Alec shook his head, rejecting the theory. "The killer would not laugh or cry. They will be in the background, blending in. The last thing they want is attention. The killer has had a lot of time to master the ability to stay in character and they won't want to break it now, not with two deaths on their shoulders. Nige is probably only here because he has too and has no emotional ties to any of this."

Ellie had to accept her boss was probably right. Even though he was an idiot, he knew what to look out for. Getting a watertight conviction was a different thing entirely.

"Are you still leaving after the case?" She whisper, not wanting anyone else, especially her nephew, hearing the subject she wanted to discuss.

Alec was quiet for a few moments before shrugging his shoulders and slouching into the chair yet again. "I don't know, maybe. I may go somewhere a bit more suited to me."

"Will you keep in contact with me?" Ellie asked nervously. She didn't _want_ to know the answer, she _needed _to know the answer. He did want to run away with her after all so a he had a right to know, didn't she?

"Yes of course." he replied without even a pause to think. "I may even write you weekly letters on how to be a good DI. What I will do is write what I would do in a certain situation and then you will do the opposite."

Ellie giggled and shook her head. "You don't give yourself enough credit. This case is very complex and you are doing your best. Also, you aren't that bad of a person once you take away all the stupid glares and miserable behaviour."

Yet again, silence fell over them before Alec spoke, breaking it once more. This time, she did not want nor need to hear what he said. In fact, she wished he had never uttered a single syllable of what he was about to say.

"You know, until the very moment I leave this place, you will be more than welcome to come with me."

Ellie stood up to walk away but she grabbed her hand and pulled her close enough to whisper to her again.

"I love you, Ellie Miller".

**To be continued...**


End file.
